Development of a novel autonomous robot for navigation and inspect in oil wells

This paper proposes a novel robotic system that is able to move along the outside of the oil pipelines used in Electric Submersible Pumps (ESP) and Progressive Cavity Pumps (PCP) applications. This novel design, called RETOV, proposes a light weight structure robot that can be equipped with sensors to measure environmental variables avoiding damage in pumps and wells. In this paper, the main considerations and methodology of design and implementation are discussed. Finally, the first experimental results that show RETOV moving in vertical pipelines are analyzed

A Novel Propeller Design for Micro-Swimming robot

The applications of a micro-swimming robot such as minimally invasive surgery, liquid pipeline robot etc. are widespread in recent years. The potential application fields are so inspiring, and it is becoming more and more achievable with the development of microbiology and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). The aim of this study is to improve the performance of micro-swimming robot through redesign the structure. To achieve the aim, this study reviewed all of the modelling methods of low Reynolds number flow including Resistive-force Theory (RFT), Slender Body Theory (SBT), and Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) etc. The swimming model with these methods has been analysed. Various aspects e.g. hydrodynamic interaction, design, development, optimisation and numerical methods from the previous researches have been studied. Based on the previous design of helix propeller for micro-swimmer, this study has proposed a novel propeller design for a micro-swimming robot which can improve the velocity with simplified propulsion structure. This design has adapted the coaxial symmetric double helix to improve the performance of propulsion and to increase stability. The central lines of two helical tails overlap completely to form a double helix structure, and its tail radial force is balanced with the same direction and can produce a stable axial motion. The verification of this design is conducted using two case studies. The first one is a pipe inspection robot which is in mm scale and swims in high viscosity flow that satisfies the low Reynolds number flow condition. Both simulation and experiment analysis are conducted for this case study. A cross-development method is adopted for the simulation analysis and prototype development. The experiment conditions are set up based on the simulation conditions. The conclusion from the analysis of simulation results gives suggestions to improve design and fabrication for the prototype. Some five revisions of simulation and four revisions of the prototype have been completed. The second case study is the human blood vessel robot. For the limitations of fabrication technology, only simulation is conducted, and the result is compared with previous researches. The results show that the proposed propeller design can improve velocity performance significantly. The main outcomes of this study are the design of a micro-swimming robot with higher velocity performance and the validation from both simulation and experiment

Design of Generalized Fiber-reinforced Elasto-fluidic Systems.

From nature to engineered solutions, the metrics of mechanical systems are often strength, power density, resilience, adaptability, safety, scalability, and the ability to generate the necessary forces, motions, and forms. The use of fluidic structures with fiber reinforcement to realize these metrics is seen throughout nature; however, these structures are rarely used by engineers, in part due to the absence of a generalized understanding of their kinematics and forces. Fiber-reinforced elasto-fluidic systems use fluid pressure to actuate an envelope with tuned compliance to provide desired motion, forces, flexibility, and transmission of energy. These structures combine the high strain energy utilization and flexibility of fibers, the versatility and compressive load abilities of fluids, and the continuum nature of soft materials, exploiting the best features of each. This dissertation discovered a vast array of previously unknown fiber-reinforced elasto-fluidic systems, models their mechanical behavior, experimentally verifies the models, creates methods for easy design synthesis, and applies this knowledge to multiple practical applications. Only a small subset of elasto-fluidic systems, popularly known as McKibben actuators, has been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, a vast design space of possible structures with multiple sets of fibers and different orientations yielding a rich array of functionality were yet to be investigated and applied to a wealth of applications. This dissertation develops the mechanics of generalized fiber-reinforced elasto-fluidic systems by first modeling the relationship of volume change and fiber orientation to motion kinematics and force generation. The kinematics of motions including translation, rotation, screw, bending, and helical were all modeled. Fiber configurations spanning the design space were tested to experimentally verify the predicted forces and motion. The force and kinematics were combined to form a design synthesis tool that maps the desired motions, freedoms, and constraints to fiber configurations. Synthesis methods were created for parallel combination of fiber-reinforced structures using discretized force and freedom directions. Lastly, novel applications were created using these fiber-reinforced elasto-fluidic structures, including an orthosis device for arm rotation contractures, a soft hexapod robot with an actuated flexible spine, and a structure for anchoring within pipes.PhDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107202/1/joshbm_1.pd

Task-Space Control of Articulated Mobile Robots With a Soft Gripper for Operations

A task-space method is presented for the control of a head-raising articulated mobile robot, allowing the trajectory tracking of a tip of a gripper located on the head of the robot in various operations, e.g., picking up an object and rotating a valve. If the robot cannot continue moving because it reaches a joint angle limit, the robot moves away from the joint limit and changes posture by switching the allocation of lifted/grounded wheels. An articulated mobile robot with a gripper that can grasp objects using jamming transition was developed, and experiments were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in operations

Control of an articulated wheeled mobile robot in pipes

We propose a control method in which an articulated wheeled mobile robot moves inside straight, curved and branched pipes. This control method allows the articulated wheeled mobile robot to inspect a larger area. The articulated wheeled mobile robot comprises pitch and yaw joints is and propelled by active wheels attached to the robot. Via the proposed control method, the robot takes on two different shapes; one prevents the robot from slipping inside straight pipes and the other allows movement in a pipe that curves in any direction. The robot is controlled by a simplified model for the robot\u27s joint angles. The joint angles of the robot are obtained by fitting to a continuous curve along the pipe path. In addition, the angular velocity of the robot\u27s active wheels is determined by a simplified model. The effectiveness of the proposed the control method was demonstrated with a physical implementation of the robot, and the robot was able to move inside straight, curved and branched pipes

Development of a Novel Amphibious Locomotion System for use in Intra-Luminal Surgical Procedures

Colonoscopy is widely considered the gold standard for inspection of the colon. The procedure is however not without issue, current colonoscopes have seen little change or innovation throughout their 40 years of use with patient discomfort still limiting success. The aim of this PhD study was to develop a locomotion system for use on a robotic device that can traverse a liquid filled colon for atraumatic inspection and biopsy tasks. The PhD was undertaken as part of a larger two-centre EU project, which aimed to bring about a change in the way colonoscopy is done by moving to “robotic hydro-colonoscopy”. In this thesis the initial development and testing of an amphibious locomotion concept for use in a procedure known as hydro-colonoscopy is described. The locomotion system is comprised of four Archimedes’ screws arranged in two counter-rotating pairs. These aim to provide propulsion through a fluid-filled colon as well as provide locomotive traction against colonic tissue in partially fluid-filled or collapsed sections of the colon, such as the splenic flexure. Experimental studies were carried out on a single screw system in fluid and dual counter-rotating screws in contact conditions. These show the system’s ability to generate thrust in the two discrete modes of locomotion of the amphibious system. A 2:1 scale prototype of the proposed device was produced and features compliant screw threads to provide atraumatic locomotion. The scale prototype device was tested in ex-vivo porcine colon. The developed system was able to traverse through lumen to limited success, which demonstrated that this concept has the potential for use on an intra-luminal robotic device The key contributions of this research are: variable geometry locomotion system; amphibious locomotion using Archimedes’ screws; experimental assessment of the locomotion in fluid, contact and amphibious states; and analysis of the contact dynamics against tissue

Lunar deep drill apparatus

A self contained, mobile drilling and coring system was designed to operate on the Lunar surface and be controlled remotely from earth. The system uses SKITTER (Spatial Kinematic Inertial Translatory Tripod Extremity Robot) as its foundation and produces Lunar core samples two meters long and fifty millimeters in diameter. The drill bit used for this is composed of 30 per carat diamonds in a sintered tungsten carbide matrix. To drill up to 50 m depths, the bit assembly will be attached to a drill string made from 2 m rods which will be carried in racks on SKITTER. Rotary power for drilling will be supplied by a Curvo-Synchronous motor. SKITTER is to support this system through a hexagonal shaped structure which will contain the drill motor and the power supply. A micro-coring drill will be used to remove a preliminary sample 5 mm in diameter and 20 mm long from the side of the core. This whole system is to be controlled from earth. This is carried out by a continuously monitoring PLC onboard the drill rig. A touch screen control console allows the operator on earth to monitor the progress of the operation and intervene if necessary